ING has announced that Ljiljana Čortan will become Head of Wholesale Banking effective 24 February 2026, taking over from Andrew Bester, who has resigned from the bank's Management Board Banking on the same date. The appointment has received approval from the European Central Bank, completing the mandatory regulatory process required for changes at this level within a significant eurozone institution.
Čortan has been a member of ING's senior leadership team since 2021, serving as the bank's Chief Risk Officer. That position placed her at the centre of ING's credit, market and operational risk oversight across its international network, providing direct and detailed familiarity with the wholesale banking relationships and exposures she will now manage as head of the division. The transition represents a lateral move from a supervisory risk function into a commercial leadership role of the highest order within the group.
FROM CHIEF RISK OFFICER TO WHOLESALE BANKING HEAD
The transition from Chief Risk Officer to leading the wholesale banking division is a notable one, reflecting a growing tendency among major European banks to place risk specialists into broader commercial leadership roles. Čortan's years overseeing the bank's risk framework mean she enters the new role with detailed knowledge of ING's largest corporate and institutional counterparties, as well as the risk appetite framework that governs how the division extends credit and manages its overall balance sheet.
ING's wholesale banking arm serves multinationals, financial institutions and mid-market corporate clients across more than forty countries. The division is a significant contributor to the group's earnings, providing lending, transaction services, capital markets access and advisory support. Maintaining momentum in that business while navigating an evolving interest-rate environment and rising regulatory expectations across multiple jurisdictions will be among the priorities on Čortan's desk from her first day in the role.
Andrew Bester's departure from the Management Board marks the end of a tenure in which the wholesale banking division expanded its trade finance franchise and grew its fee income base as corporate clients sought comprehensive banking support for increasingly complex international supply chains. Bester's resignation takes effect on the same date that Čortan formally assumes leadership, ensuring continuity of oversight through the transition.
ECB APPROVAL CONFIRMS GOVERNANCE PROCESS COMPLETE
The ECB's formal approval of Čortan's appointment reflects the rigorous fit-and-proper assessments that euro-area supervisors require for senior roles at significant institutions. Under the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB evaluates the knowledge, skills, experience and personal integrity of prospective board members and key function holders at the banks it directly supervises, a process that can take several months.
ING, headquartered in Amsterdam, is one of the larger banking groups under direct ECB supervision. Changes to its Management Board therefore require explicit regulatory sign-off before they can take effect, and the bank confirmed that all necessary approvals were secured ahead of the 24 February transition date. The swift completion of the approvals process allowed ING to announce the change with a clear and firm effective date.
With the leadership change formalised and regulatory clearance obtained, ING's wholesale banking division enters the next phase of its strategy under Čortan's direction. Clients and counterparties are expected to receive communication about the change through standard relationship management channels in the days immediately following the announcement, providing continuity of service across the division's global client base.